“Proud. Emotional. Gutted.”
In three words, Leicester Tigers great Ben Youngs summed up what it meant to finish his illustrious rugby union career with a narrow Premiership Grand Final defeat by Bath.
England’s most-capped male player of all time came off the bench to replace his Tigers and international scrum-half successor Jack van Poortvliet with 26 minutes remaining at Allianz Stadium Twickenham.
The ingenuity and influence that has been the hallmark of nearly two decades of Youngs with Tigers was instrumental in getting them so close to glory.
But ultimately, they were overcome 23-21 by a Bath side who lifted the trophy for the first time in 29 years.
“It hurts, but I’m proud,” Youngs told BBC Radio Leicester.
“My emotions are all over the place right now. You have so much ambition to win today and you don’t, and you have that to deal with as you try to take it in. It’s a funny old feeling.”
For fellow retiree and Tigers luminary Dan Cole, who is second only to Youngs for England caps, his last game will live in the memory for a moment he will regret.
Less than six minutes after the prop was brought on, he was sin-binned for clattering into Finn Russell when attempting to charge down a kick in the 69th minute.
It allowed Russell to tee up the kick that effectively sealed Bath’s victory, even though a converted Emeka Ilione try soon after set up a tense finish.
In a gruelling match on a draining, sun-soaked day, the late yellow card had Tigers down a man for a second time.
Before the break, it was another departing player in captain Julian Montoya who spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin for a high tackle on Ted Hill.
Youngs said it took a “monumental” effort for Tigers to push Bath, a side who completed a trophy treble after winning the European Challenge Cup and Premiership Rugby Cup already this term.
And while it was a loss that also marked the end of Michael Cheika’s one-year reign at the helm of the East Midlands club, the decorated head coach could only reflect on what the loss meant to those Tigers greats on their way out.
“I just feel disappointed and sorry that I didn’t prepare the guys in a good enough way to get them what they deserved today,” the Australian said.
“I love this group of guys and love the club, and I’m so proud of the players for the way they stayed in it right to the end.
“We gave ourselves a chance to win it right at the end, but unfortunately it didn’t go our way.”
Cheika also made every effort to avoid getting himself into “strife” when talking about decisions throughout the game – most pointedly Cole’s sin-binning – and said he would take it up with the RFU’s officiating chief Paul Hull as a “final bit of banter”.
With two-time World Cup-winning South African fly-half Handre Pollard also moving on in the summer, the decider was seen as the “last dance” for an all-star ensemble.
Pollard’s high-profile three years at Mattioli Woods Welford Road ended empty-handed but he said that lack of silverware paled in comparison to what Tigers failed to accomplish for two of the club’s finest servants.
“It’s very disappointing, and not so much about losing the game and the trophy but it’s more about sending Ben Youngs and Dan Cole and those guys off with a loss in the final,” Pollard said.
“That’s the one that gets you.
“We’ll have great memories with this team and I’ve enjoyed every minute.”
For Youngs, who spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live after the match with his children and other family crowded around him, missing out on a sixth Premiership title will not stop him cherishing one of English rugby’s greatest careers.
“The ink is dry, I’m proud of my contribution and I’ll miss it,” he said.
“But I’ll forever be a Leicester fan now.”
